


Tease Me

by greenwillow



Series: Top of the Class [1]
Category: The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, GET IT AETHELFLAED, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenwillow/pseuds/greenwillow
Summary: The TA in Aethelflaed's High Medieval History class is cute or whatever, but what she really likes is how worked up he gets when he disapproves of something. When Aethelred is involved, Aldhelm's disapproval reaches legendary heights.OrAethelflaed's kink is watching Aldhelm deal with incompetence.
Relationships: Aethelflaed Lady of Mercia/Aldhelm (The Last Kingdom)
Series: Top of the Class [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048940
Comments: 12
Kudos: 15





	Tease Me

**Author's Note:**

> I blame @kingwellsjaha entirely for this. It's sort of a companion piece to [this canonverse fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511474) (we stan a couple with weird inverted workplace related kinks).

Aethelred was at the head of the class, narrating a barely legible PowerPoint presentation on the Norman Conquest. Merely looking at him, you couldn't tell that his arguments were shit. Merely looking at him, you couldn't tell he wouldn’t know a bibliography if it bit him on the ass. Merely looking at him, you’d never have guessed Aethelflaed deeply regretted dating him freshman year. Looking at him, if you weren’t listening, you could almost believe he was a competent student.

But Aethelflaed already knew all that, and she wasn’t looking at him anyway. She had her eyes fixed on the TA at the front of the room, seated at a desk set off to the side. Professor Pyrlig was out for unknown reasons, as they'd grown used to hearing on Fridays, so the class deferred to his teaching assistant without a second thought.

Aldhelm, the TA in question, had been observing Aethelred with a slightly confused, slightly pained expression since he’d begun, but when Aethelred reached the main thrust of his argument (a watered-down, barely coherent version of J. H. Round’s classic thesis) Aldhelm’s head dipped to his hands and did not rise for the remainder of the presentation.

Aethelred was the last student scheduled to speak that day, and although he did not quite fill out the required time, Aldhelm dismissed the class with a half-hearted wave of his hand that seemed to indicate he no longer believed he maintained control of anything in his life, least of all this course.

It was a crisp fall afternoon, irresistible weather preceding what was sure to be a brutal winter, so the students all filed out of the basement classroom as quickly as they could.

Only Aethelflaed remained behind. She gathered her things slowly, making sure her notebooks and papers were organized perfectly before she made her way to the front of the room.

Aldhelm was bent over the desk, staring at the paper Aethelred had left. He glanced up at her as she approached, his face still wearing the expression of utter disappointment only her ex-boyfriend could produce.

“Well, that was quite a presentation.” Not a question, a statement. But one she knew he could not resist.

“God, it was awful,” Aldhelm nearly moaned, hand over his mouth. “Definitely the worst thing I’ve seen this semester so far. Possibly the worst thing I’ve seen ever, in an academic context or not. Truly horrible.”

He shook his head as he spoke, punctuating his words with slightly raised eyebrows every now and again.

Aethelflaed bit back a smile as she watched him writhe in the memory of Aethelred’s failure.

“He hasn’t really seemed to grasp that he gets graded on his work, not his looks,” she chimed in.

Aldhelm nodded sorrowfully, then pursed his lips, a slightly curious expression on his face. “I actually remember seeing you two together around campus quite a bit when I was an undergraduate.”

Aethelflaed cringed. She knew she and Aethelred had been the very definition of an “it” couple but had hoped it had somehow gone unnoticed or at least been forgotten.

“We’re all allowed one mistake first year.”

Aldhelm smiled, and she enjoyed the way his eyes seemed to linger on her face before he turned back to his desk.

“I really don’t know how I’m expected to grade this,” he said, massaging his temples. “I shouldn’t speak ill of one student in front of another, but…god, it’s an undeniable travesty.”

“I know,” Aethelflaed sympathized. “He thought he did well too, that’s the worst part.”

“It was unbelievable,” Aldhelm’s eyes grew wide with horror as he remembered, speaking as if he could barely grasp the truth of what he was saying. “He stated his thesis as if he was the only person ever to have used any of these words in sequence. I’m not sure he even used a consistent tense throughout his paper.”

He began to scramble through the papers on his desk, then stabbed his finger accusatorially at the passage he found.

“No, he didn’t! He couldn't even do that one thing!” His face was in his hands again, and Aethelflaed allowed herself one tiny laugh while he was distracted.

“He came to me for guidance last week, and I walked him through the expectations for the course, and I really thought he understood…”

“He didn’t come for guidance,” Aethelflaed sighed, taking a seat on a front-row desk. “He came to try and charm you. It’s worked on others—not me!” she added swiftly as Aldhelm’s head jerked up.

“What on earth did you see in him, anyway?” he asked. “Sorry, that’s a bit presumptuous. Clearly, I don't understand women at all.”

Aethelflaed wrinkled her nose in amusement. “I mean, isn’t it obvious?”

“It’s the hair, isn’t it?”

Aethelflaed laughed outright now.

“That’s where I’ve gone wrong. I knew it.”

Aldhelm ruffled a hand through his own hair as if by habit, then pushed his left sleeve up to view his watch.

“Somewhere to be?” Aethelflaed asked, pulling a tube of chapstick from her bag and running it over her lips.

He caught her eye for a moment; she smiled.

“No, nowhere to be. Just trying to decide if it’s appropriate for me to begin drinking before I attempt to grade Aethelred’s paper.”

“If ever there’s a time to make an exception…”

“I believe you’re right,” he replied with a sigh. Then, his eyes widened as he remembered… “I don’t think he mentioned Hardrada even once. Good lord.”

“Are you sure?” Aethelflaed asked, rising from her seat and coming round to stand at his side. “I could have sworn I heard him say something about Stamford Bridge at one point.”

Aldhelm began to frantically flip through the papers again, ripping out the staple for easier access. Aethelflaed bit her lip, watching him shuffle between the same fifteen pages (“ _It’s only FIFTEEN PAGES_ ”) over and over.

“He’s not mentioned here at all,” Aldhelm said, thrusting the pages in her direction as if she would require proof of incompetence. “He completely bungled the assignment. Unbelievable.”

“It can’t be the worst thing you’ve ever seen,” Aethelflaed said with a shrug, handing the papers back. “Aethelwold was in Pyrlig’s class with you last semester.”

“Yes but somehow even Aethelwold managed to complete the assignments in a baseline competent way. I’m pretty sure he was paying someone to do them for him, but investigating that was above my pay grade.”

Aldhelm leaned a hip against the table and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes flicked over her as she swept her hair behind her.

“You’re up next week. Did you find today’s slate of talent completely soul-crushing, or does it not matter since you’ve already finished?”

“Finished last night, in case you needed someone to go early,” she said cheerfully.

She watched in satisfaction as one of his eyebrows quirked up and his mouth twisted into a smirk.

“Of course you did.” He cocked his head. “Why are you in this class anyway? I would have thought you’d be more of an Odda type of student.”

Professor Odda had the reputation for being challenging (read: a hardass), whereas Pyrlig was something of an easier A for any student who bothered to apply themselves.

“I liked Pyrlig last semester,” Aethelflaed answered. What she meant was “I liked you enough to stick around,” but she wasn’t sure if he caught her meaning.

“Yes,” Aldhelm nodded, “I remember your paper on coinage in Roman Britain. It was very well researched.”

“Unlike Aethelred I am familiar with the inside of a library.”

“I do wonder what he would do if I approached him with a sheet of microfiche.”

“Probably ask you what was wrong with your credit card.”

It was Aldhelm’s turn to chuckle now, and she reveled in the way his laugh seemed to roll out of him involuntarily while his eyes never left hers.

The door had been closed and the shade half-drawn for the presentations. When the motion sensor activated fluorescents in the hallway turned off the only light that remained filtered in from the high windows. It was quiet on the bottom floor as it neared five o’clock. The students who liked to camp out in the classroom buildings on weekends had no doubt already staked their claims and were making their way to the dining hall. All the teachers had definitely vacated the campus by now unless they were actively lecturing. The entire building felt quite abandoned.

“Well,” Aldhelm said, breaking the silence, “I suppose I should let you begin your evening. I never was invited to many campus parties as an undergrad, but I suspect your social life may be somewhat more vibrant.”

He was gripping the back of his neck with one hand and beginning to tidy his desk with the other. Everyone looked tall next to Pyrlig, but he was taller than she’d noticed before. She realized she’d never stood quite this near to him.

She took a step closer, running her fingertips along the edge of the desk till they came to rest near the last stack of papers.

He glanced up as if sure she was mistaken, sure she did not mean to stand so close. The surprise on his face shifted back to curiosity, then his eyes narrowed with an almost suspicious expression as she laid her fingers atop his.

She’d led up to it so gradually she hadn’t expected him to actually be shocked when she kissed him, but she could feel his body tense slightly when their lips met. He didn’t pull back, however, he leaned into her.

Aethelflaed gripped his collar to pull him closer, and he reciprocated by placing his hand in the center of her back—just above her hips and below her bra, completely respectable (as far as teacher/student kisses go).

She’d half expected him to have broken it off within ten seconds, but when after a moment he didn’t she felt behind her for the desk, then hopped up on it, wrapping her legs around him.

He was nuzzling at her neck now, she nipped at his ear, breathless, reeling, expecting to be interrupted at any moment. She used to make out with Aethelred, or even Erik around campus sometimes, but this felt quite different. Technically they were alone, but she’d never felt exposed in quite this way. It was thrilling.

She pulled back to catch his gaze. His eyes were wide, looking straight back at her without any veil or pretense between them.

He dipped back in for another kiss, his teeth nearly knocking against hers. Her laugh bubbled up, he huffed one too.

“We’re very lucky no one likes to hold night classes in the basement,” he murmured into her ear.

As if on cue, a raucous noise echoed from the stairwell down the hall. Aldhelm jumped back, adjusting the collar of his shirt before glancing sideways to the door. No one appeared to have passed by; they must have gone into another classroom.

Aethelflaed took a moment to collect herself as well, straightening the sleeves of her jacket while looking at Aldhelm from the corner of her eye. He didn’t appear embarrassed—flustered, absolutely, but quite in control of himself. That was surprising but only intrigued her more.

“I suppose,” he said in a low voice, gently closing his computer, “I ought to state that even if you weren't top in the class this would not make you eligible for extra credit.”

Aethelflaed hid her laugh with a cough and hopped off the desk to pick up her bag from the floor.

“I’m not sure this is strictly allowed,” Aldhelm continued, glancing up at her briefly with an almost severe expression as he organized the student papers into a neat stack. “In fact, I’m fairly certain it’s explicitly forbidden.”

He had packed up his laptop. His satchel rested on his hip, his hands were weighed down by an almost literal ton of books, none of which he’d referenced during the course of their class—they appeared to be for his graduate research.

They were both composed and collected again. Should they be interrupted now, it would be difficult to tell they’d been caught up in each other mere seconds earlier.

“It might be forbidden,” she said, crossing one leg before the other and leaning back against the desk. “But explicit sounds a bit strong.”

His eyebrow cocked up again. “Oh, does it?”

She bit her lower lip and nodded.

“I admit I don’t know the faculty manual by heart.”

“You can trust my memory. I am, after all, top in the class.”

He was trying to prevent it, but his mouth twitched into a smile.

“I know a place we can get a drink,” she added casually, slipping her hands into her back pockets.

He glanced up towards the ceiling for a millisecond, then his gaze dropped to hers again.

“I’m afraid I’m well known at all four bars within walking distance of campus.”

“So am I. I’m not talking about a bar.”

He cleared his throat, still hesitant.

“My flat’s on Gloucester, a stone’s throw away.” Aethelflaed pulled her keys out of her bag. “Number 3. Walk over with me, or follow and give me a ring and I’ll let you up. If you want.”

She walked towards the classroom door, throwing a glance over her shoulder as she turned the knob.

“Anyway, you can’t walk home carrying all those books like that, you look ridiculous. At least let me lend you a bag.”

Aldhelm breathed a laugh—nearly too quiet to hear—and followed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed you can reblog the photoset and playlist [here.](https://aadmelioraa.tumblr.com/post/637215683072131072/modern-au-college-au-teacher-student)


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